Marwat alleges ‘bargain’ offered to transport imprisoned Imran Khan to Nathia Gali.

ISLAMABAD: Amid ongoing talks between the government and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to defuse political tensions, party lawmaker Sher Afzal Marwat claims that the former ruling party was offered the opportunity to relocate its incarcerated founder Imran Khan to Governor House in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Nathia Gali.

“[Interior Minister] Mohsin Naqvi and representatives of the government and the establishment tabled the offer to move Imran to Nathia Gali… but PTI rejected the deal,” the legislator stated while addressing on Geo News’ ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’.

A similar allegation was made by PTI founder’s lawyer Faisal Chaudhry, who stated a day earlier that Imran was offered a deal in which he would be transferred to Bani Gala, his mansion in Islamabad, to serve the remainder of his jail sentence.

“Imran Khan stated that he was offered a relocation to Bani Gala. However, he made it clear that he would not move unless those held without trial were released,” Chaudhry told reporters outside Adiala jail.

Last month, The News claimed that the government may consider providing the PTI founder a bargain of house imprisonment if he does not question the current system and ceases agitating.

The reports of a “deal” came as the federal government and the former ruling party met for talks, with the latter laying out two initial demands: the release of all “political prisoners” and the formation of a commission to investigate the events of May 9, 2023, and November 26, 2024.

During today’s episode, Marwat stated that the former prime minister was “approached directly” on multiple times. “An assurance was given that Imran would be released by December 20,” he told me.

Responding to an inquiry on the negotiations, the legislator stated that PTI negotiators revealed that no one was prepared to accept responsibility for making written requests. “The team want to consult the PTI founder before tabling the charter of demands.”

The declaration comes a day after the besieged former ruling party and the government had a second round of discussion, which National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq described as friendly.

During the discussion, the PTI negotiation team requested regular meetings with party founder Imran Khan to complete the “charter of demands”. While the PTI has been loud about its core demands, it has been unable to communicate them in writing to the government committee.

The Imran Khan-founded party has already issued an ultimatum that discussions must complete by the end of this month.

The negotiations came after the previous ruling party threatened to launch a civil disobedience action if their demands were not satisfied. Imran Khan, the jailed PTI founder, called on his followers last month to commence the anti-government action by withholding remittances in the first phase.